Monday, October 3, 2016

reading matters...


Newest additions to my (heaving) book pile(s)



Dark Emu is small gem
all about indigenous agriculture in Australia (pre-colonisation)
I suspect it will become a part of the national curriculum
(its that important)

when I bought/read the title you can see it was shortlisted for
the Vic Premiers award which it subsequently won

 

The author, Bruce Pascoe, lives 'just down the road'
(ie a few hundred kms away)
He is the author of numerous fiction and non-fiction works
His children's books are rather special
(EJ recommends 'Fog a Dox')

If you are an Aussie you need to read Dark Emu



Talking of Aussies -- this one is quite a sweet delight...


full of evocative photos and reproductions of Joshua's work
(and yes - there are lots of lovely owls)


Not long after I devoured this book
I stumbled over an interview with Joshua in Dumbo Feather
he's what you'd call a real individual... 



I'm a total sucker for beautifully made books
(I joke that I only had kidlets to justify buying children's picture books!)
 
I recently encountered some images from 'The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue-Eagle'
and just had to bring it to my stacks


Yes, its a work of fiction
but its so beautifully and sensitively done

and given their heritage,
I thought this was important to pass down to our kidlets

(this title was originally released in the 1990s but there are reprints - obviously!)

 

Indeed I love collecting those books that made a big impression on me
like these two titles by Leonard Koren

I first read these titles when completing my MVA
(which was before my MFA) --- ooo how I miss my university library...

Again, these date from the 1990s so when I saw two sparkly new copies
in the bookshop at the MCA in Sydney
I took it as a sign - into my bags they went!
 


I'm always on the lookout for titles to add to my library
I'd love to hear your recommendations
what's the best book you've read this year?



...




7 comments:

  1. ooh I love a good book pile! My best reads far this year re A little Life by Hanya Yanigahara (?sp); Small Acts of Disappearance by Fiona Wright; Listening Below the Noise by Anne D. LeClaire;The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer; Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner; When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi and a re -read - World Enough and Time by Christian McEwan. Phew - they were all goodies and I look forward to looking thru your list too for my next best reads!

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    1. ooo I'll have to have look for all those fiona -- I love to read the book jackets and amazon descriptions for books (I don't BUY from amazon mind you --- I look and then go order the title from my local indie book store.... they love me!)

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  2. books books books! well, i wondered if i could whittle it down to one, and realized that i go right back to an older book-Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. i also just purchased, but haven't read more than a couple pages of terry tempest williams book about our national parks. and then there's the big book called Landmarks 3 about john wolseley's work...

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    1. ooooooo temptations! (I'm with you about the wolseley book --- just kicking myself I didn't order a catalogue of his 'heartlands and headwaters' exhibition..... his work just sings doesn't it xxx)

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  3. Ronnie, I thought your list was wonderful, and now there's Fiona's and Velma's lists to add. I love the look of your books, Dark Emu, Surrender and Thomas Blue Eagle... Thank you so much 💙💙💙

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    1. don't miss out on reading dark emu carol --- have you got a local library with a copy --- demand they get it if they don't already have it!

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  4. Hi Ronnie (and Carol, Fiona and Velma!), love the reading suggestions. I just devoured The Broken Shore by Peter Tempple - first of his books that I've read, although I don't think all of them are written in the same style as this one - and loved it. I picked up the Joshua Yeldham book at the AGNSW and drooled over it! But I decided that following him on Instagram is enough :-) I stole a quiet hour yesterday evening after the fireflies had gone, looking through Sarah Raven's The Cutting Garden, and Joy Larcom's books on veggie gardening as I've just finished a new raised veggie bed at the back of the house. They're aspirational as well as inspirational - I doubt whether I will manage to be quite as productive or beautiful in the new patch, but it's nice to dream... Sara

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thanks for all your lovely comments - your words are greatly appreciated xx